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Beaver Co. HS Football

Nick Gizzo, Fox Chapel Run Past Moon, 42-6

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Nick Gizzo, Fox Chapel Run Past Moon

Week 4 of Beaver County High School Football on Pittsburgh Sports Now is made possible by Vocelli’s Pizza, State Representative Rob Matzie and The Printing Press.

Quarterback Nick Gizzo ran for 306 yards and three touchdowns, and Fox Chapel snapped a two-game losing streak Friday night, running over Moon, 42-6.

Gizzo and teammate, Micah Morris, terrorized the Tiger defense all night, as the Foxes racked up 475 yards of total offense, including a season-high 444 on the ground.

“We felt going in we would be able to control the game with our run game,” Fox Chapel head coach Tom Loughran said. “We wanted to throw the ball a little bit too, but as time wore on, we felt we were successful running the ball and wanted to stick with what was working for us.”

Fox Chapel (2-4) struck first, marching 75 yards in seven plays on the game’s opening drive. Gizzo broke free from a pile near the 15-yard line and scored from 21 yards out. The Foxes stretched the advantage to 14-0 late in the first quarter on Micah Morris’ three-yard touchdown run. It capped a series of 12 straight rushes, covering 87 yards, by Fox Chapel.

Gizzo added touchdown runs of 59- and 80- yards in the second quarter to push Fox Chapel’s lead to 28-0. The latter was his 10th rushing score of the season.

Moon’s (3-3) offense struggled for most of the first half, yet got going just before the break, taking advantage of a short field after a blocked punt. Cole Konieczka connected with Ramone Dean for a four-yard touchdown catch with 31 seconds remaining in the quarter, but the Tigers failed to convert the PAT and trailed, 28-6, at halftime.

Gizzo tossed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Drew Witt on the Foxes’ first possession of the second half, and Morris tacked on a 26-yard scoring run late in the third quarter to initiate the mercy clock.

Morris had 95 yards rushing, and Chase Villani added 34 yards on the ground.

“We felt we were doing a good job of getting bodies on people at the line,” Loughran said. “And once we cleared the line of scrimmage, we did a great job of breaking tackles and running for long yards.”

Konieczka, who entered the night with six touchdowns in last his last two games, was consistently under pressure from the Foxes’ defensive line and finished 14-35 for 145 yards. As a team, the Tigers totaled just 10 yards rushing and saw their two-game winning streak end.

“I thought we did a great job of pressuring the quarterback,” Loughran said. “Which is key, because watching tape, if you gave him [Konieczka] enough time to throw the ball, he would find receivers and make plays.”

Fox Chapel hosts Hampton next week while Moon will play Chartiers Valley.

Sandy Schall, Coldwell Banker
 
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